The Control Room

Loretta’s Last Show

“The Control Room” is my submission for challenge #2 of the

Gibberish

Writing Competition.

In this story, I tried to capitalize on

Scoot

’s feedback about my pacing ; showing rather than telling throughout the entirety of the story. I also drew on my own personal experience as a former TV news producer because the control room is indeed a confining space.

I’d love to hear from anyone reading this. What works? What doesn’t? Any and all feedback, positive or negative, is appreciated. This whole challenge is my attempt to improve my craft.

For those of you who subscribe to

Narrowtives

, this story serves as a follow-up to “Loretta” and picks up the day after Loretta’s phone call with her mother. You need not read both but I thought you reader-types would find that interesting.

Word count: 2495. That’s right. Right up to the edge again. Scoot, let the critique begin!

Photo by Izaak Kirkbeck on Unsplash

“Ten seconds,” Loretta said into her headset. 

Kevin signed off, “Thanks for watching KDES news at six. We’ll see you back here for the news at eleven. Until then Des Moines.”

Loretta counted down, “Three. Two. One…. We’re clear. Six is done. Now to the eleven.” She tossed the headset aside and took a long stretch as if waking for the day.

Mike tilted his head, talking behind himself toward Loretta, “Hey, at least you know your lead.”

Loretta scoffed, “How about you focus on directing and let me worry about the lead?”

Mike chuckled, “I’m just saying.. What beats a city council sex-scandal?”

Loretta rolled her eyes. “Hopefully nothing. I need a peaceful night.”

Sean nudged in, “Loretta, can I take off? I’m starving.”

“Sure,” she said. “But bring it back to eat here. Remember, they fired Ryan yesterday so we’re a man down. We need you in the newsroom just in case.”

“Sure thing,” Sean said, turning for the door.

Loretta's phone vibrated, showing a picture of her boss, KDES news director Charles Topple.

“Sean, wait real quick. It’s Charles.”

“He never calls…” Loretta thought. 

Sean paused and sighed, “Alright.”

Loretta swipes to answer. She can’t even say hello before Charles erupts.

“Get someone to Gibson High now! I’ve got an officer texting me about a possible active shooter. I don’t care who it is, just get a camera down there and be ready to take it live. I’ll text you what I can as I get more but have everyone on standby.”

Charles hung up as quickly as he started talking. Loretta’s head dropped.

“Well no one’s leaving," she said.

Mike huffed, “What the hell is it now?”

Loretta lowered her brow, giving Mike a condemning stare. “Looks like we have a possible active shooter at Gibson High,” Loretta said, adding a bit of sass at the end. “I’ll send Chelsea and Travis to find out more but for now we’re stuck in the control room and need to be ready to take this live.”

Sean sulked and shuffled back to his seat at the teleprompter.

“Damnit,” Mike said. “This place will be the death of me.”

Loretta fired back, “We’ll take that live then too.” 

Mike cackled a bit and started working on a possible live shot.

Loretta started making her calls. She managed to catch Kevin at his desk, also on his way out.

Kevin grieved, “Don’t give me that, Loretta.”

“From the boss, not me.”

“You know just as well as I do most of these turn out to be fake.”

“Well I hope this will too but orders are orders. Get to your chair.”

She phoned her photographer, Travis, and reporter, Chelsea, and told them to start driving from city hall to Gibson High.

“It’s a ten minute drive so get moving, and call me when you get there,” Loretta told them.

For those next ten minutes the team sat in frustration, surrounded by the hum of the control room. Never a true moment of silence allowed. Mike hunched over the switchboard as its electric veins fueled the ever-twinkling lights and linked with the robotic cameras on the studio floor. And no matter how hard Loretta tried to focus, the myriad of monitors watched her from the wall, always reminding her that her attention belonged to the unknown of what was to come.

She was exhausted to her core. KDES was her third station in only four years after graduating college. She’d already bounced around the east coast and made a name for herself as the most creative and hardworking producer the local news industry had seen in years, but she was drained. She recalled the conversation she’d had with her mother the night before.

“I’m one person doing the job of four!” Loretta complained. “Writing, formatting, editing video… Hell, I even have to manage reporters!”

“Loretta…” her mother chided, naming her the way mothers do. “You call me and bicker about this job every night. It’s been like this for months. Darlin’, you probably don’t want to hear this, but I think it’s time you come home.”

“Not now mom,” She thought.

Travis’ face lit up Loretta’s phone. 

“What’s up?”

“I’m firing up the live feeds now. The mobile signal and the dashcam. It’s packed here, so I’m ready to move if the cops push us back.”

“Good thinking,” she said.

Loretta pulled her face from her phone, snapping for Mike’s attention. He glances back. She points to the monitors mouthing silently “Get the shot up.” He nods and starts routing the live feeds into the board.

Travis continues, “There’s definitely something going down. More cops here than the last school hoax. Chelsea’s trying to get some info from some officers here.”

“Got it. Thanks,” Loretta said. “Mic check in two minutes. Make sure she’s ready.”

As Loretta hangs up, a text from Charles alerts her phone:

Police confirmed: Man holding hostages at Gibson High. At least one shot fired in cafeteria. Around 6:30. Awards night. No word on injuries. No ID. Be on air in no less than 5 minutes. 

Loretta yells, “Mike, call Travis! Get them up for a mic check!”

She turns to Sean, “Be ready to load prompter. Typing now.”

She snatches her headset and is quick in Kevin’s earpiece, “Write this down!” Kevin jolts up, grabbing his pen, ready to take notes. She relays Charles’ text.

“Kevin, we’re on in four.”

Kevin cries, “Oh God!”

Loretta hammers away on her keyboard.

Kevin is lambasting her headset, “Am I getting a script or just wingin’ it?”

Loretta is impatient in his ear, “Typing something. Hold on.”

Still typing, she yells to Mike, “Where’s my live shot? Need a mic check.”

“Live shot’s up. Mic is hot. She can check,” Mike groans.

Loretta looks to her preview monitors and sees Chelsea surrounded by a swarm of police. Caution tape litters the school entrance in the background, drowning in a pool of flashing blue lights. The school is a little too far in the distance to make out any specific action.

“Did they call in? Can I get in her ear?”

“Yup…”

“Chelsea… Travis…can you hear me?” Loretta asks.

Chelsea looks up to the camera and finally speaks, “One. Two. Three. Testing. Testing. Testing. Can you hear me?”

Loretta chirps, “You’re good. Chelsea, you got me?”

“I got you.”

“Travis, you got me?”

Travis reaches around the camera and gives a thumbs up.

Loretta sends the script and looks at Sean, “Script’s in. Load it.”

“Mike, Sean, listen up,” she said. “I’m going to get into their ears and talk to everyone at once.” Loretta commands the scene. “We’re live in one minute so standby. Kevin… Chelsea… the script is loaded. Kevin, you open and set the scene. Toss to Chelsea. Travis, get a shot of the school and pan to Chelsea after she starts talking. Chelsea, read the script but don’t be afraid to tell us what you’re seeing.”

Thirty seconds later Mike takes over the airwaves and launches the special report.

Kevin reads:

“WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING FOR A K-D-E-S SPECIAL REPORT.

I’M KEVIN MEYERS.

BREAKING NEWS FROM MID-TOWN.

{***TAKE LIVE CAM**}

THIS IS A LIVE LOOK AT GIBSON HIGH SCHOOL WHERE POLICE CONFIRM AN ARMED MAN IS HOLDING SEVERAL HOSTAGES.

CHELSEA LINCOLN IS LIVE AT THE SCHOOL.

CHELSEA, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US?”

Chelsea sticks to the script:

KEVIN THIS IS AN ACTIVE SCENE AND WE’RE STILL GATHERING DETAILS. 

HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW:

OFFICERS SAY A MAN FIRED AT LEAST ONE SHOT AROUND 6:30 DURING AN AWARDS BANQUET IN THE SCHOOL CAFETERIA.

THAT’S WHERE HE’S HOLDING MULTIPLE HOSTAGES.

POLICE HAVE NOT CONFIRMED ANY INJURIES AND HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED THE SUSPECT. 

Chelsea had no sooner finished the script when gunfire broke out behind her. 

*pop..pop..pop..pop..pop*

Chelsea ducked, running off camera.

“WOAH!” Sean cries

Loretta leaps to her feet. Shaken and nervous she shrieked, “Mike, stay with that shot but cut her mic. Just camera audio.” She jumped in Kevin’s ear, looking at him in the monitor, “Take over. I’m moving them.” Kevin nodded and repeated the script before describing what sent Chelsea running.

Travis moved the camera toward the sound of the shots. Quaking and zooming in, the camera caught the figure of a man sprinting with a pistol in the air. He jumped into an old van and took off, bursting through the caution tape, swerving directly in front of Travis and Chelsea.

Loretta screams into their ears, “Guys guys guys.. Are you okay? Talk to me.”

Chelsea was trying to catch her breath, “We’re okay. We’re okay. Travis is shaking his head at me. He’s fine.”

“Okay. Get in the live truck and follow them. The dashcam is already up!”

“Mike, come back to Kevin.”

Quietly in Kevin’s ear she told him to stretch. “We’ll get back to the chase as soon as they’re in the truck behind the cops.”

Taking a quick glance at the room Loretta finds Sean frozen to the feed of the live truck as the suspect weaves through residential streets.

“Sean….” Loretta called. “Focus. I just need you to keep that script rolling.”

Sean stuttered, “Sorry. I just.. I just can’t believe this. Hostages at a school?! ”

“It’s fine,” she said. “Just scroll. Keep the script moving so Kevin stays fresh.” 

Loretta had to remind herself Sean was new. He’d been at the station all of two weeks as the intern and was now covering someone else’s job.

Looking at the monitor she saw the van had scurried through town and was merging onto the interstate. At the same time, Mike told her the dashcam was ready to roll and that Chelsea’s mic was set. Loretta made sure Chelsea was prepared before getting back into Kevin’s ear, loud enough to let her director know, “Toss to Chelsea when you’re ready.”

Kevin ad-libbed, “If you’re just now joining us, KDES is following a police chase that started after a man opened fire at Gibson High about five minutes ago. Chelsea Lincoln is live, again, this time from our mobile unit, following the suspect as he tries to evade police. Chelsea..”

After making sure the on-air feed was on the police chase Kevin gestured to his mic and waved at the camera for Loretta’s attention.

Into Kevin’s ear, “What’s up?”

Kevin whispered into his lapel, “Did you see his face when he drove by the camera?” he asked. 

“It happened too fast for me,” Loretta said. “Why? Did you see his face?”

Kevin scowled but didn't respond, but he looked troubled. 

“Why Kevin?” Loretta asked. “What did you see?”

“I’m probably wrong.”

Loretta looked back to the monitors just in time to see the gunman’s van take the exit for downtown Des Moines.

“Where the hell is this guy going?” Mike said.

Sean shouted “He doesn’t even know. Just trying to shake the cops.”

“No,” Loretta added. “They always go somewhere they know. We just have to follow.”

The feed continued to roll as the van narrowly escaped an intersection. It seemed every cop in the city was on his trail.

“Damn, that was close!” Mike added with a chuckle. 

Sean laughed back, “Too many twists and turns in the city.”

Seconds later Loretta notices the landmarks around the chase are starting to look familiar. 

“Wait, where the hell *is he going?” she asked, stepping closer to the monitors.

Her phone vibrates. She glances down to see it’s Travis but ignores the call. Something was off and she had to figure it out. 

Mike’s voice sprang up, “Is that the gas station up the street?”

Loretta’s phone continues to vibrate. Travis again. “Why is he calling?” she thought, still ignoring her phone.

The shooter’s van took an abrupt left turn, crossing four lanes of traffic and  side-swiping an unsuspecting sedan as it made its way down a little known alley.

Mike stood at his desk. Still managing the board he cocks his head, screaming at Sean and Loretta behind him, “That’s our street! We’re the only ones back here. He’s coming right at us!”

Loretta’s phone vibrates again with Travis’ face now beckoning her to answer. She swipes.

“Travis, what’s…”

“Loretta! Loretta!” Travis screams her name into the phone.”

“Travis, what? Calm down!”

“It’s Ryan! The shooter is Ryan! I can see him in the van! He’s coming for the station!”

Loretta stood frozen, watching the feed as the van sped across the parking lot and slammed the station lobby. The newsroom rocked and the thunder of the crash was heard throughout the building. Still live on air, she could see Ryan jump quickly to his feet, leaping out of the van before running straight toward the newsroom. 

She shouted to the control room and into the headset, “the shooter is Ryan! He’s in the building! Get down!”

Kevin leapt from his chair. “I knew it,” he whispered as he crawled into the slightest opening beneath the anchor desk. Loretta, Mike and Sean pushed four meager chairs into the doorway of the control room. The door didn’t have a lock, so they had no way of keeping Ryan out shy of physically holding the door shut. All three shaking, together they crouched behind a panel of computers.

Sean was in shock, “He’s got us trapped…”

“Shut up man,” Mike whispered. “Don’t help him find us.”

*pop..pop..pop*

Glass shattered. The three of them waited. Barely breathing. 

From behind the desk Loretta could still see the monitors showing the dashcam playing out the chaotic scene. With no director to switch sources, viewers were forced to watch as police surrounded the studio. But the sight gave her hope. As she watched closer, she could make out officers chasing Ryan into the building. She bumped Mike and Sean and whispered, “Look.” She motioned her head to the feed. “They should be here by now.”

At that moment they heard footsteps just outside the control room. Staring at each other, none dared make a sound. The door began to shake.

*crash*

Ryan kicked in the door and stood holding his gun down at his side. Loretta could see his eyes. Total darkness. He met her gaze and raised his gun.

*pop..pop..pop..pop..pop*

In an instant Loretta saw Ryan fall to the ground, dead. Multiple officers rushed in to clear the scene.

Moments later the officers walked her team from the control room. She was relieved to see Kevin. Ryan apparently only shot the newsroom glass hoping to hear screams.

Walking out of the control room Loretta felt like Lazarus coming from the grave. She’d been given a second chance and she knew it was time to start over. She entered the lobby and saw Charles lamenting the damage. Locking eyes with her boss, she paused.

“I quit,” was all she could manage. She walked away as he stood nodding toward the floor.

“Mom was right. It’s time to go home.”